Friday Feral Field Lion DOWN!!! Called in... NO PICS...

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HALLAUSTIN

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Just my 2 cents

Now I may be in the wrong, but my Mrs. works with a cat adoption place and I just couldnt kill a cat, but our cat also came back when called, just like our dog. The only feral animal I have **** was a rabid dog. I didnt like it, but it was either that or let it roam and bite/kill/infect other animals.
Now that said, I am not a PETA freak (to me PETA means people eating tasty animals) and I do hunt pests, I just like cats. But I live in the city limits where cats arent much of a problem. I hunt coyotes and can't stand to let one live if I have a firearm handy, I just have a soft spot for cats.
But to each their own and Brent, if they affect your wildlife, then put em down.
PS-I second that you tell a great hunting story
 
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rickyrick

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I understand your feelings for cats, but feral cats are not friendly at all and are quite dangerous to domestic cats and dogs.
 
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Buzzcook

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Inside the city limits you should consult your local animal control office.
In some cases they'll lend live traps and expertise.

We have a neighbor that feeds strays. She also feeds possum and raccoons.
 
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Hansam

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In the city you have no choice but to rely on your local animal control office for feral cat issues or for that matter any feral/stray animals problems. More often than not they'll live trap the animal(s) and remove them to a shelter.

From there the shelter will either destroy the animal (if its found to be mangy or unsociable) or send the animal out to other shelters that will try and place them in homes. Personally I'm a huge proponent of destroying any and all collarless strays/ferals. People will say that some of those are pets even though they're not collared and tagged. Personally if someone really loved their animal they'd have the proper collar and tags on the animal - and not let it roam at large. In regard to the idea of placing them - the way I see it is they get placed in homes and then get free again to terrorize a new area... and then animal control is called and it all starts over again. Just a waste of time and money. I'd always been a supporter of heavy punishments for people who let their animals roam at will. Personally I'd be happy with a huge fine for people whose dogs/cats are caught roaming at large. Make'em pay before they get the animal back - and if they delay in paying make'em pay boarding fees. If they refuse to take the animal back take'em to court. It'll teach people to be more responsible with their pets in the city.

Out here in the country animals without collars die. Dogs with collars are captured (or killed if they prove to be of a dangerous temperament) then the owners are called. If I see the dog again law enforcement is involved - WI has a statewide statute against pets roaming at large off your private property. Third time I see the dog on my property it dies.

I just hate it when people either can't or won't (most cases its the latter) give their animals proper training and keep control of them. My dogs heel till released from heel (usually to go do something else), sit till I release them (again usually to go do something else) and don't leave my property (I don't have fences). In fact they don't wander away from what I consider my yard since that's what they've been taught as being their boundaries. Now maybe I've got a leg up on most people since I do train dogs on the side but then it really doesn't take that much time and effort to properly train a dog and keep it trained. I don't know about cats except that when they roam at large they are very detrimental to the native wildlife so they are shot on sight.
 
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Deja vu

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My dad had a young dog he was training to be a hunting dog. One night it got out and went on the neighbors property and started chasing chickens and the neighbor shot it. My dad was a little miffed but in the end it was his fault because its his job to control his dog. He and the neighbor are still on good terms.
 
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rickyrick

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My cats stay in the yard, they lay around and eat my food....I can't prove it, but I think they smoke weed....

My dogs have to be contained or else they would hit the road. I have one dog that gets to walk with me unleashed but he still needs supervision. I would probly give a collared dog a chance but not too many.
 
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MLeake

New member
It is interesting to note the divide on this one between hunters and farmers / ranchers.

Feral cats don't bother me at all. They keep the rodents and birds out of my horses' feed.

For that matter, I like rat snakes.

Another thought - beware the culling out for predation due to boredom's sake rhetoric. Most of the hunters I know don't actually need to hunt. That's not to say they waste meat, but they hunt because they want to, not because they will starve if they don't hunt.
 
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Hansam

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Another thought - beware the culling out for predation due to boredom's sake rhetoric. Most of the hunters I know don't actually need to hunt. That's not to say they waste meat, but they hunt because they want to, not because they will starve if they don't hunt.
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There's hunting for sport - which would be most of us here - then there's just killing every darned thing you come across that you can kill because you feel like it - which is every feral cat out there.

As sportsmen and hunters we only kill what we have tags for or what is allowed for us to kill during the specified season and that we have licenses for. We have a bag limit and a possession limit and we obey those limits. We also don't kill random song birds, protected species and anything else unfortunate enough to cross our path.

Feral cats on the other hand have no concern for tags, seasons, bag limits etc. They don't give a darned if a bird is a song bird, game bird or freaking protected species. They just kill it. Seen plenty of them stalk and kill then leave the carcass lay because they just saw the prey. That was really what proved to me they should be destroyed on sight.
 
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MLeake

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Hansam,

I know quite a few guys who like to hunt coyotes and prairie dogs because they can. These are not people who are concerned about predation on livestock, nor on prairie dog holes breaking a horse's leg. They are just guys who like shooting the critters, and who can do so at will because those animals are considered fair game where they live (due to damage to livestock).

I don't know anybody who eats coyote or prairie dog.

A lot of guys kill wild hogs whenever possible. The meat does get used on those, in general. Again, those animals are considered fair game in many places because they damage crops. Yet, most of the guys I know who hunt hogs are not farmers - they are guys who like to hunt.

My point again being, don't make this a moral issue about the evil feral cats. If you place a value on the animals they kill, and if feral cats are legal prey where you live, then have fun. But a lot of humans behave in much the same way as those cats do.
 
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rickyrick

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Nuisance animal hunting can be touchy and has different set of standards than game hunting. I go about hunting them based on the threat the animal poses, amount of damage and whether or not they are native.

1. Pigs, all pigs will die on sight within the confines of a safe, responsible shot...no matter the final disposition of the meat.

2. Raccoons, will be shot or trapped if a number of occurrences dead chickens, damaged food stores,ect.....raccoons that stay in raccoon land and do raccoon activities, will not be actively hunted.
A. Skunks will usually be dealt with but not always.
B. Possums and others as needed.

3. Coyotes, usually hunted for fun. Most are not particularly harmful.....however, some are, I do not seek coyotes that do not reside in the immediate vicinity, but nothing is 100% when it comes to coyotes. Coyotes can be a challenge, so, I consider them to have a sporting chance.
 
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Tickling

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As sportsmen and hunters we only kill what we have tags for or what is allowed for us to kill during the specified season and that we have licenses for. We have a bag limit and a possession limit and we obey those limits. We also don't kill random song birds, protected species and anything else unfortunate enough to cross our path.

Feral cats on the other hand have no concern for tags, seasons, bag limits etc. They don't give a darned if a bird is a song bird, game bird or freaking protected species. They just kill it. Seen plenty of them stalk and kill then leave the carcass lay because they just saw the prey. That was really what proved to me they should be destroyed on sight.
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Not a cat fanatic, but whoah! I think you need to reread your post. You do realize you just compared cats (instinctive predatory animals) to humans (usually intelligent, intellectually evolved, morality-aware, ape-like creatures)? And formulated a judgement from that comparison?

There's hunting for sport - which would be most of us here - then there's just killing every darned thing you come across that you can kill because you feel like it - which is every feral cat out there.
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Yes, and you just described animal or cat "sport." Lots of other animals do it, such as Killer Whales. Surprise, surprise.

But hey, I have no issue with anyone dealing with feral or nuisance animals. I do however take issue with your logic. And heres why; it's the same logic certain extreme environmentalists use against us (humans) about how we kill animals for sport and rape the planet for our own benefit. Like you, they say that we (humans), should be exterminated and balance restored.

Again, I have no problem with feral cat elimination, just please don't use arguments the bunny-cuddlers can beat you over the head with..
 
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langenc

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Why is there a difference between pets and feral cats. How can/do you know the difference? Is there a difference-both groups will kill and and all!!

Neighbor has some she feeds and wonders why they dont leave. Other neighbor has one and a 'cat door' and NO litter box. My wife is just about done cleaning up the flower beds.

THis is kinda like the various 'pit ranges' that slobs leave all kinda of junk for someone else to clean up.
 
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Hansam

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MLeake - You are correct that there are those who hunt coyote and shoot prairie dogs purely because they can. I personally shoot coyote on sight too because I train dogs and as such they can be a threat to the dogs I train. I however do not hunt coyote that don't decide to make their homes on my property and training grounds. I do not begrudge others the choice to hunt coyote though nor do I condemn them for it. We don't have prairie dogs here so I really can't comment on that.

That said you have to understand that these hunters are hunting a species that typically have a reproduction rate that easily exceeds the rate at which they are being killed - even with human predation. Coyote have few if any natural predators in many areas - and regardless of how hard I try to eliminate the coyote population in and around my area I do find them returning now and then. Again I won't touch on prairie dogs because I don't have them here.

Now about cats - they hunt everything that comes across their path and is within their killable size. As was stated by another poster they do this instinctively - they are nature's nearly perfect killing machines and they prove this consistently. I haven't got a problem with wild cats. I do have a problem with feral cats. Feral cats are a problem that was created by humans. This is one of those problems that will not go away till humans intervene and eliminate it.

Tickling - I believe you need to reread my post. I did indeed make a comparison between humans and feral cats. I did so with the intent to show that humans ARE sentient - they have morals and rules that they obey. They set limits for themselves and remain within those limits when hunting.

Feral cats on the other hand are NOT a natural occurrence - rather a human made problem - that does not have the capacity to understand that certain species of birds are restricted from hunting or that some animals are protected by human law. They ONLY behave instinctively - instincts that we as humans have distilled within them through time and selective breeding - and as such they kill even when not hungry.

Wild cats do not do this. True wild cats only kill when hungry or threatened. For a feral cat its not even about sport since animals do not have the capacity to determine the difference between sport and necessity. In the feral cat's mind it is doing what it was created to do - something it sees as a necessity - kill every small creature that it comes across.

You are correct that I worded one sentence incorrectly however my logic is correct. Of course even had I worded it correctly anyone could twist what I had written to mean anything they wish. Look at you and your perception of the post. A bunny hugger would easily pervert my post to become something it isn't... however any post here could be perverted like that.

Regardless of how one feels about hunting though it MUST be understood that complete and utter eradication is the ONLY solution to the growing problem that humans created out of "love" for their pet cats... This is a problem that must be tackled on two fronts though. One front is the issue of educating cat owners so they do NOT allow their cats to roam outside and be given the chance to go feral. The second front is the total destruction of the entire feral cat population in this country. Both fronts are as enormous and difficult a task as it is to devise a machine to prevent earthquakes. However if we at least tackle one front as best we can as responsible citizens of this planet we might be able to at least mitigate or minimize the negative impact that these creatures have on our natural resources.
 
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MLeake

New member
Hansam, I would suggest that your "feral cats as man-made problem" argument is stronger and more defensible than the argument that feral cats are not selective killers, and that they don't kill for food.

The man-made problem and man-trained behaviors argument is more persuasive, and doesn't allow antis the easy attacks that the previous argument allowed, IMO.
 
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gyvel

New member
feral cats are EVIL. Predation for boredom's sake? Cull them early and often.
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Bull. Cats have no sense of morality and only do what their instincts tell them to do. Small, domestic cats are almost identical, genetically, to their larger counterparts (lions, tigers, panther, cougars, etc.) and have evolved to be predators.

Interestingly, my own personal observations over the years have been that people who really loathe and detest cats are people who like to "control" things. Cats have evolved in this world to be predators and predators are focused animals, i.e. when they are hunting, they shut out all other stimulii and concentrate only on finding that prey.
 
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hogdogs

Staff In Memoriam
I make this distinction as to whether or not a cat is pet or is it feral....

If it is on my place it is feral as I own no pet cats that belong here...

After each one is killed, I check for collars and claws... I have dropped a few with collars but all had claws and no microchip has been found during skinning...

Not that the presence of a chip would matter to me...

Brent
 
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Art Eatman

Staff in Memoriam
langenc, since I don't live in town and have no pet house cat, any cat I see is a feral. :)

Basically, cats in rural areas or wilderness are feral, which is where the main problems arise. Lotsa cats means fewer songbirds, quail, squirrels, rabbits...

Sure, there are feral cats in towns, but since it's against the law to shoot and you have people there who love ALL cats: There's little point in talking about them.
 
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